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Anyone who has driven through winter in Wisconsin knows that cold weather and hazardous conditions can arrive quite sudden. Now that summer is drawing to an end, it’s time to prepare your car for fall once again. Don’t wait until it’s too late to get your car in shape for the cooler weather. Instead, follow these easy tips and enjoy the open road all year round.

Fix minor blemishes

The paint on your car’s exterior isn’t just for looks. In fact, it’s crucial in protecting the body of your vehicle against things like rust damage. As fall approaches, fix any blemishes in your car’s paint job to protect it against damage from the elements.

Install new floor mats

Protecting your vehicle’s interior is just as important as taking care of the outside. That’s why good floor mats are a must in locations that see cold winter weather. Best of all, replacing your car’s floor mats is inexpensive and easy.

Stow an emergency kit

You should always have an emergency kit in your vehicle, but this is particularly important in winter when car breakdowns are more likely and the conditions potentially more dangerous. As fall approaches make sure your emergency kit contains food, water, warm clothes and gloves, and a battery-powered cellphone charger.

It’s hard to believe, but back to school season is already here. Whether you live near a college campus, high school, or any other school, it’s important to remember some key back to school driving tips to ensure you and everyone around you is as safe as possible this fall.

Drive slowly near schools

When school isn’t in session, it’s easy to ignore “school zone” signs, but it’s time to get back into the habit of reducing speed to the posted limit in this areas, even when no one seems to be around.

Look for pedestrians

Back-to-school season typically means you’ll find more pedestrians walking to and from school in the morning and late afternoon. This can cause a slight increase in traffic in some areas, so be sure to plan accordingly as you take on your daily commute during the school year.

Share the road with bikes

The school year also typically means an increase in bike traffic, especially if you live near a college campus or high school. Exercise increased caution around bikers and give them plenty of room to maneuver safely to avoid a potential accident.

Preparing your car for summer is a necessity in optimizing performance and extending the vehicle’s lifespan. Here are some summer car service tasks that the average driver can take care of on their own.

Lights

Drivers should periodically inspect their vehicle’s lights and bulbs. Replacing burned out bulbs is a safety precaution that no driver should ignore. The lenses need to be cleaned and inspected for cracks just as frequently.

Windshield Wipers

Worn windshield wipers can become a major safety hazard in heavy summer rains. As a general rule, drivers should replace their windshield wipers every six months, but fortunately, replacing worn wiper blades is an inexpensive maintenance task, and it’s easy to do, too!

Battery

A car battery can fail any time of the year, but failure becomes more likely if the batteryisn’t properly maintained. While the only way to determine a battery’s strength is with professional equipment, drivers can take some routine maintenance precautions to reduce the chance of failure.

First, drivers can scrape corrosion off of the posts and cable connections. Cleaning the surfaces and retightening the connections can help keep the battery looking like new while potentially extending its lifespan. Drivers can also check the battery’s fluid level, provided the caps are removable.

Of course, another good idea is, if you see something that looks out of the ordinary, bring your vehicle in to Courtesy Ford of Sauk City for our professional technicians to look at.

At the end of August, Hurricane Harvey devastated the Gulf Coast, especially in the Houston area. Then, it hung around for days, dumping an unbelievable amount of additional rain and causing severe flooding. In the aftermath of this disaster, the country is coming together to help.

Ford’s hurricane relief is coming in multiple ways. Ford and its dealers are committed to raising more than $3.5 million to help rebuild the affected communities and help families get their lives back. Here are some of the ways Ford is giving back:

The Ford Motor Company Fund is contributing $500,000 to various support groups in the area including the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Team Rubicon, Catholic Charities, Toolbank, and by purchasing four Chariot Transit Vans to aid relief efforts.

Ford dealers in the Texas area have already donated $200,000 through the Cowboys-Texas telethon and are committed to raising even more to help dealership employees and other groups.

Ford has announced a unique “Texas Is Family” package that allows families who lost a vehicle to get the transportation they need. This package includes below-invoice Ford employee pricing with no payments until 2018. Low Ford Credit APR and lease rates, and a simple application process online.

Here at Courtesy Ford of Sauk City, we hope to see everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey get their lives back to normal as soon as possible. If you want to help, consider making a donation to the Red Cross, or other charity organization.

It’s that time of year again; the kids are back in school and your driving duties are upped! If your kids can’t take the bus and you don’t want the stress of driving them every day, you should consider carpooling! Here are some carpool tips for you and other parents.

Follow these carpool tips to be ready for the start of the new school year.

Have a Schedule

Work out a schedule with the other carpool parents that stays consistent. For example, every Monday and Wednesday goes to you, every Tuesday and Thursday goes to “Jenny’s Dad” and every Friday you rotate.

Car Seat Safety

Even if you’re carrying kids as old as 8, they might still require a car seat or booster seat. Check the guidelines in your state so that you have all kids, your own and others, properly buckled. Remember that kids under thirteen shouldn’t sit in the front seat and that everyone should buckle up!

Establish Rules

Make sure every carpool parent has the same rules. That way, you’re all on the same page on everything when it comes to things like running errands with kids in the car, how long you will wait for a child running late, etc.

Contact Information

Make sure you have all parents and kids’ contact info as well as other family member information in case of emergencies.

For more tips, suggestions, or questions visit us at Courtesy Ford in Sauk City, Wisconsin and we’ll be happy to help in any way that we can. Keep calm and carpool on!

The holiday season is right around the corner, one of the busiest times of the year for travel. We’ve put together a post on holiday road trips to help you survive this hectic season. Whether you’re staying nearby or travelling cross country, these are tips you don’t want to forget.

According to AAA, the most important thing to do is plan ahead and make sure that your vehicle can make it to your destination. Maintenance is key: have your tires and brakes inspected, get an oil change, top off fluids, and replace wipers.

Map routes in advance. With GPS it’s easy to forget that there are better ways to plan ahead. Your GPS will often take you the fastest route, depending on settings, which means that you’re going the same way as other people. Sometimes taking a ten-minute detour might save you hours of being stuck in gridlock. Leave early and look at alternative routes to avoid the rush.

Never leave animals or valuables in the car unattended. If you have to stop, take your pet with you. Cold weather can be especially fatal to small pets. You should also put anything valuable in a safe location, like a locked glove box or in the trunk.

Finally, have a roadside emergency kit and service. Always bring a first aid kit, spare tire kit, and survival kit. Also, make sure to get a roadside service if you don’t already have one.

The 2015 Ford Edge has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), supplementing the 5-star Overall Safety Score it already earned in testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

In the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint categories, the 2015 Ford Edge earned a score of “Good,” the highest possible. Though it earned the second-highest “Acceptable” rating in the small overlap front crash test, its overall performance was still good enough to qualify it for the IIHS Top Safety Pick award.

The IIHS noted that drivers involved in a crash while at the wheel of an Edge would be at less risk of serious injuries and enjoy better airbag protection than in most other vehicles.

We’ve always known the 2015 Ford Edge was safe at Courtesy Ford, but it’s nice to have even more numbers to back it up!